Day V--Yosemite

July 6, Yosemite National Park (posted 7/17/06--Houston) We were in a hurry to get to Yosemite before the first-come-first-served campsites were all gone (the Yosemite website warns they often fill up by 9am on summer days), so we set off from Sacramento before 6am. Ella slept as we moved into the brushy hills leading into Yosemite. The trees gradually got taller as we approached Yosemite Valley, but we were on a mission to get a campsite, so we pressed on. By the time we got into the valley and through the traffic jams, complete with rangers directing traffic, we pulled up to "Camp 4" to the site of a long line for sites. The one guy behind the desk was painfully slow, taking more than 5 minutes per person just to assign a site and take $5 per camper. We had to spend 90 minutes in line, but did get a site! Ella didn't mind the wait, and managed to entertain herself. Camp 4 is a "walk in" campsite, meaning it starts about 20 feet from a parking lot. It was something like a mix of a refugee camp and a youth hostel. It wasn't exactly what I'd call a wilderness experience, but it was an interesting mix of people, from cooler-than-thou hi-tech outdoors folk to ex-hippies. The air was filled with lots of foreign accents, and a number of very American accents loudly voicing their political opinions. At any rate, we got a slot in site 8, with 4 other people sharing it, and Ella got to work helping set up the tent. She got dirty fast, but seemed pretty proud of herself nonetheless. Having established shelter, we turned to nourishment. The menu included "cheeseburgers". Now, fed and sheltered, we set off to see the sites that draw so many to Yosemite. The valley was beautiful. And the requisite sites (such as halfdome, below) were stunning. But, there was reality as seen through the lens: and reality as seen on the ground. The place was so crowded they needed rangers to direct traffic, and every inch of roadway was lined with cars. We saw all the famous waterfalls including the vista of Yosemite falls from the site of John Muir's old cabin. Bridal Veil Falls graced us with a delicate rainbow suspended in the mist. But sometimes the nices sites were the quiet, out-of-the-way and un-named spots away from the crowds. As the sun went down, we visited the Valley's general store for a bite of ice cream, and headed back to camp for some Louisiana hot sausages and Annies Mac-n-Cheese. Finally we drifted off to sleep to the gentle roar of falling water, mostly obscuring the sounds of the ongoing political debates a few zippered doors away.